One of the most popular singing groups in America in the 1970’s was a group called Crosby, Stills, Nash (and sometimes) Young. Like many of the singing groups of that era, they are still performing today. David Crosby is 73, Stephen Stills is 70, Graham Nash is 73, and Neil Young is 69.
At almost the exact time that I reported for basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, an event occurred at a small college in Ohio that prompted CSNY to release the song shown below:
4 dead in Ohio
Some years after the shootings at Kent State, the State of Ohio erected an historical market on the campus. It reads, in part, that “the shootings were unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable”. The financial settlement by the State of Ohio amounted to $675,000, which would be equal to $3,792,247 in 2010 dollars.
Not long after I moved to Arizona, the legislature tried to pass a bill to allow guns on college campuses. I literally wrote to every single member of the legislature in opposition, and input by law enforcement officials and campus authorities also helped to kill the bill.
Although the majority of colleges and universities in the country are opposed to guns on campus, as are the majority of college students,there is currently a movement by pro-gun groups to FORCE campuses to allow guns on campus.
Although the “guns on campus” law hasn’t resurfaced in Arizona, the legislature still manages to come up with numerous wacky gun bills every single year. One legislator has even has suggested that guns should be allowed in ALL public buildings until church attendance is made mandatory.
I long ago came to the conclusion that simply casting your vote every couple of years wasn’t enough participation in the political process, so I send LOTS of letters to newspapers and various folks in the legislature. Not surprisingly, those activities occasionally result in achieving the results that I feel are desirable.
I recently finished reading Elizabeth Warren’s book, “A Fighting Chance”. The daughter of a janitor, she eventually became a law professor at Harvard and a United States Senator. If YOUR state starts to go a little crazy (which is par for the course in the Grand Canyon state) follow the example of Elizabeth Warren - and fight like crazy.
